If you have had the chickenpox or received your childhood immunizations prior to 1995, when the chickenpox vaccine was licensed in the United States, you are at risk of developing shingles. It is a painful condition with potentially long-lasting consequences.

What is shingles? Shingles is a rash made up of small fluid-filled blisters that usually appear on one side of the torso or face. It is caused by the herpes-zoster virus, which lingers dormant in the body for life after having had chickenpox. Any suppression of the immune system or other factors, such as stress, can cause reactivation of the virus decades later. Since shingles affects the body's sensory nerves, it is extremely painful, and is the leading cause of chronic nerve pain in America.